Around the Bend
by DaughteroftheOneTrueKing
Summary: Penelope and Hermione find out the truth about the Monster of Slytherin


**Am back again! This is for QL, round 7. The tasks were based on Ministry departments, and naturally, Captains got Minister of Magic and support. The prompt was to write about someone taking charge of someone or something. Hope you enjoy this!**

**Word Count: 1200**

Penelope stared blankly at the piece of parchment before her. The sixth-year was usually quite eager to work on the various essays the professors at Hogwarts assigned the students, but this was exam season. Even Ravenclaw students like her were beginning to crack under the stress of studying to be able to continue with their NEWT classes.

It was early morning; earlier than most other students would show up to browse and study before the day's Quidditch match. Penelope couldn't have cared less about Quidditch and planned to skip the event in favor of finishing this Arithmancy essay before her. She held a quill to the partly-written-on page, but no words came to her mind. Her concentration wasn't helped when the library doors burst open.

Penelope looked over in mild interest, expecting to see a frazzled older student coming to do a fact check on some event or spell theory. She was surprised to see a younger girl dash into the library and hurry to the nearest bookshelves. Ordinarily, she would not have jumped into the situation, but there was no one else in the library besides Madam Pince, who never took kindly to frantic students, and, as she was a prefect, she felt it her duty to help younger students in need. She rolled up her parchment and walked over to where the girl had started rifling through books. Penelope saw that the younger student wore her school robes despite it being a Saturday. The red and gold tie was tightly knotted and perfectly straight. Her robes were spotless; not a thread was out of place. The only flaw to her tidy appearance was her hair which was long and bushy.. Now that she saw the girl closer, she found that she knew who she was.

"Hermione Granger?" she said curiously. Penelope figured helping this girl would give her some distraction and she could go back to her essay with her mind relaxed. The younger girl turned from the book she was skimming. "Harry Potter's friend?"

Hermione sighed, as if she were used to being known thusly. "Yes," she answered. "I'm sorry, I can't talk right now."

She returned to perusing the book in her hands, then put it back and grabbed another one.

"Maybe I can help?" Penelope offered. "I do know this library well. I'd wager I know it better than anyone else at Hogwarts, except maybe Madam Pince."

Replacing the second book, Hermione said, "Sure, I can use some help."

"What are you looking for?" Penelope asked.

"I think I know what the monster is," Hermione answered. "I just want to verify before telling someone."

Penelope remembered the attacks from a few months ago. Filch's ugly cat, Mrs. Norris, two Muggleborns, and the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, had all been Petrified back before Christmas. No more students had been attacked since, and many believed it was because Rubeus Hagrid, the Gamekeeper at Hogwarts, had been sent to Azkaban as the culprit. Some still thought it was Harry Potter who was responsible, but as the attacks had discontinued that belief grew less and less likely an option.

"But I thought they caught-" Penelope began, but Hermione interrupted her.

"Hagrid didn't do it," she said fiercely. "At least, not if my theory is correct. I think it's a basilisk."

Penelope considered the idea. "Maybe," she said. "They can Petrify you if you look at them indirectly, although that is a one-in-a-million outcome. There could be plenty of other explanations, though. Do you have any other evidence?"

"It may be why Harry keeps hearing that voice," she said, almost talking to herself. "He's a Parselmouth, so it would make sense for it to be a snake. We need to find a book that mentions them!"

"We learned about them in Defense Against the Dark Arts last year," Penelope remembered. "I've forgotten everything Quirrell told us about them, but there are books here. Let's get looking."

For the next few minutes, Hermione and Penelope scoured the shelves of the library for books that had mentions of basilisks. Finally, Penelope found it in the contents of a book called _Moste Derk Magikal Beestes._

"I found something, Hermione," Penelope called, waving the book at her. The younger girl came over, and they read through the page or so written about Basilisks.

"I was right!" Hermione exclaimed. "That's the voice Harry's been hearing from the walls! And Hagrid said someone has been killing his chickens! Whoever the Heir is must be doing it so that the roosters don't hurt it."

Penelope concluded, "And no one has died because no one has seen it directly. The floor was flooded when Mrs. Norris was attacked, the little Gryffindor kid saw it through his camera, and that Hufflepuff saw it through Nearly Headless Nick, who is already dead."

Hermione grew pensive. "But how's it getting around? It can't exactly hide."

Penelope considered this. "You said Harry heard a voice in the walls?" Hermione nodded. "Maybe the plumbing?" Her heart raced as she thought of it. The monster could get around with absurd ease like that.

Hermione shrieked in excitement. "That's it! It's so simple!" She looked around, and, catching no sight of Madam Pince, ripped the page from the book. She got a quill and ink from her bag and scrawled _pipes _onto the page. Ordinarily, Penelope would never have condoned the defacing of a book, but under the circumstances, she knew they had more important things to worry about.

"So we've figured out the mystery," Penelope said, barely keeping her voice even. There was a reason she hadn't even been considered for Gryffindor. "We'd better go to Professor McGonagall or someone."

The two girls made to leave, but Hermione stopped abruptly. "Wait. That thing's still out there. We need something we can use to check around corners."

"I have a mirror," Penelope offered. She dug through her pack until she found it. She nearly fumbled it as she pulled it out. "This should do perfectly."

Hermione looked into the mirror. "Okay, let's go find someone to tell. I bet everyone's down at the Quidditch Pitch."

The two set off from the library, using the mirror to check around each turn before making it. If they encountered the basilisk, at least they wouldn't be killed, only Petrified. Hermione held tightly to the ripped page, so that if something happened someone would be able to figure out what had happened. Penelope held her breath as they reached each corner, sighing in relief when the coast was clear.

For a while, they thought they were safe. They made it a few corridors from the library when Penelope heard a sound from the hallway ahead. She nearly stopped breathing, she was so nervous.

"Hold on," Penelope warned, reaching to stop Hermione, who had gotten to the bend and was holding out the mirror to check their path. She was too late. Penelope saw the younger girl stiffen and keel over. She hurried over. "Hermione!"

It was the wrong thing to do. As she reached Hermione, Penelope caught sight of the mirror still in her hand. She saw two yellow spotlight-like eyes, and then her mind went blank.


End file.
